Aspirations, Experiences, and Contentment

by AB@AspiringBlogger.com

Just a snapshot of some of the F1 action!

Well, it has been a hectic few days in the Aspiring Blogger household. We spent Thursday on the road getting down to Austin, TX for the Formula 1 race and then all of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the track watching the action. We were up by 6am each day and were thoroughly exhausted by the time we arrived back at my sister-in-law’s apartment each evening. Sunday evening we drove home which took about four hours including a short stop for dinner, so we were home by 9pm. It was an amazing experience, one that I will never forget. It’s also one that I probably won’t repeat any time soon. Other than the financial costs (some I’ve already shared with you, and the rest I will share in an upcoming post) it was just thoroughly exhausting and I’m not sure that any future race could compare to this one. This was my first F1 experience, brand new track, first race on the new track, birthday weekend, my brother was in town, etc – everything just came together perfectly. I’ll share more soon, but I’m very glad I went and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. This definitely helped with my aspiration of being more content in my life!!

Aspirations

My first two aspirations – financial and location independence – are pretty straightforward to grasp as concepts. Contentment is a little more abstract to some people, but all I’m trying to say is that I want to be happy with my life – as a complete package (professionally and personally). As I’ve said before, when my first two aspirations are met, this one will probably be met right along with them. Why am I thinking so much about contentment right now? Last night, when I should have been sleeping, I fired up my Google Reader and an article caught my eye – Spencer and Laura’s Success Story: Moving to Costa Rica with Two Children which was posted on Man vs. Debt.

Experiences

As I’ve previously lived in other countries and would love to do so again in the future, I immediately clicked through. The article talks of a family who had a seemingly great life to the outside world – good job, house, car, etc – but inside were consumed with a desire for much more. They aspired to be location independent (hmm…), they aspired to be more content in their lives (this is sounding familiar), and the husband was sick of the job that was sucking the life out of him (wow… almost like I could have written it!) and wanted to be financially independent. This family has very similar aspirations as I do and they identified these very clearly earlier this year.

So what have they done about it? Well, they sold EVERYTHING except what they could fit into 8 suitcases (2 per person) and moved to Costa Rica to begin their new journey. WOW…just…WOW!!! It’s hard to take that in. They had a clear set of goals and they just went out and executed. I have a great deal of respect for what they are doing – especially with two young kids – and how they’re going about it. You can read more about their journey at their blog – Lost and Found Family – and I will definitely be following along. While I hope that they are wildly successful in their endeavors, even if they fall flat on their face and have to move back home and get a “cubicle job” again, they will still have amazing experiences that they picked up on the course of their adventure that can never be taken away. To me, that alone would be worth the price of taking the leap.

Contentment

Yes, experiences can be expensive (and/or risky) – whether they are to F1 races or to start a new life with your family in Costa Rica. But, the more I think about life and how I want to live mine, I realize that I don’t want to wake up in 30+ years with a pile of money and no new experiences. I’m not sure how to balance that with reality yet – but hopefully I’ll have some help figuring it out along the way! If everything works out – then I’ll achieve all of my aspirations and be financially independent, location independent, and content – ahh, what a nice life that sounds like!

I hope that gives you something to think about – I know I definitely have some thinking to do. What does contentment look like to you? Let me know in the comments!